Review Karai Crab

Lucia

We wanted to order Dungeness crab but they only had the legs. So we ordered snow crab combo with Karai special sauce. Taste was great and good amount of food for 2 people if you are not big eater. Service was really good too! If you are craving for seafood, I highly recommend 😊

Emily Ramsey

I enjoyed my meal here!! I got the 1.25 lbs of snow crab legs with a side of french bread and a blue Hawaii, and my husband got the prime rib with mashed potatoes and a pineapple mana beer. Everything was super yummy! Our waiter was very kind, as well as the other employees who checked in with us. The restaurant was also clean (note: I watched the employees sweep out under the tables after each party had left before cleaning the tables and resetting them! +1 point 😊). My "normal" crab experience is snow crab leg clusters that I have to crack myself, with a side of melted butter. This experience was pretty close to that! These crab legs came with a sauce and seasoning choice. I ordered a garlic butter "sauce" with mild seasoning on it (mild = no seasoning basically). They were a little slippery to open, but not too hard. The crab legs came in a metal bowl which made it easy to dip the crab meat into the sauce at the bottom 😁 They also give you gloves and bibs, as well as scissors with a cracker on it, and a crab pick knife. Plus the table had one of those napkin dispensers, so you always have napkins! The prime rib was a newer special item that they were testing to put on the menu. My husband really enjoyed it - we think it should stay!! It was nice having a non-seafood option 😊 Overall I enjoyed my experience at Karai Crab and would definitely come back!

Tim Ethridge

The food was fantastic and the service was very friendly and helpful. Great value for what you pay for, especially during happy hour (reservations through Yelp.) We had the kraken and it was definitely more than enough for our party of 4, could've used 2 more people with us honestly.

Tom

Wow this place was seriously amazing. You wouldn’t really think to eat crabs in Hawaii, but the stellar reviews and the amazing pictures had me sold. And oh boy, it did not disappoint. I got the Dungeness crab, garlic, honey wings, and the combo. If you’re getting the karai sauce, I suggest habanero spice as it’s not too spicy but super flavorful. The honey garlic sauce was generous and unlike any honey garlic I ever had. They are also extremely crispy and crunchy. The karai combo was also very good and a good selection of other seafood besides crabs. The sausage was particularly very tasty. Next time maybe I’ll try the king crabs! Chicken wing 5/5 Crab 4.5/5 Karai combo 5/5

David Lau

Sweet stuff, super fast serving speed, and delicious food make it worthy of 5 star. Recommend the catfish, any shellfish with the spicy Cajun flavor. The snow crab is either not fresh or overcooked, that’s what I would not recommend.

Lina Nguyen

Crab is a 10. Expensive as is crab so go ready. We got the crab for 2 , fried calamari and sweet potato fries. Crab was perfect? Portion. Big enought for 2 ppl, fried calamari the best I had in my life no lie and I did travel around the world. It was perfect not burn dry or overcooked just amazing. Sweet potato portion was crazy. Only thing we went around 2000 and they close the kitchen 2030 so Sunday night you feel the frustration of the staff trying to close all and go home so idk if that's OK or they just should literally not take nobody else after 2000 or just don't go that late. If they not getting paid overtime bc some customer like us show up late I don't blame it but it was weird. I definitely will go back another time. Cons: no parking lot, good luck parking on the street!

The One MVP

Karai Crab was awesome. The Karai wings were crunchy and seasoned perfectly. The fries were cooked just right with a crunch. My wife loved the shrimp and chicken. Food came out 7 minutes after ordering and my drink never went empty and I got 8 refills. Amazing service and food.

Tabitha Morris

Was craving seafood and this hit the spot. Ordered the garlic noodles, snow crab legs, clams & garlic shrimp. Top win was the shrimps. The sauce definitely be killer on wings too. We could have ordered 4 of those & be happy. Not to knock any of the other dishes because they were just as delicious. Shrimp was on another level. To make it even better, the service was on point. Friendly & attentative.

Black&White Photography

No mess shrimp with garlic bread and clam linguine 😋 Good food Quick service Friendly staff

T Mack

This is our last night in Hawaii and this dinner did not disappoint! The food was well seasoned and was provided in generous portions. The calamari steak was so tender and crispy - if you like calamari, do not skip this! The honey garlic shrimp.was flavorful and crispy. We literally were licking our fingers!! Everything was sooooo delicious!

Dilu Namaratne

We were looking for a place that offered seafood and found this place. When we managed to get there, it was almost closing time , so we had some quick dishes on the menu. We had the Shrimp and garlic fried rice, kim chee and Shrimp fried rice and the Calamari appetizer. We absolutely loved the food and would have liked the try the entrees of Crab legs and combos if we had more time. The person who served us was very pleasant and gave a good service to make sure that we get our food before the kitchen was closed.

Justyn Toyama

This place is nice and the service was good when I went a few weeks ago. The problem was I had a hard time finding their parking area. Overall the food is good and the No Mess Shrimp comes with different options as to the flavor you want for you shrimp from lemongrass flavor to I think it was a Cajun flavor. It also comes with different sides to choose from like salad, French fries and rice. Very tasty place!

Jenifer Hansen

If you are on the island of Oahu you have to go to this restaurant! Had such an amazing meal! The best calamari we have ever eaten… the sauce is incredible too! The seafood roast… divine and the Karai combo with lobster tail was fantastic! If you like a great LCB this place is next level!

Laurent Yanai

Good garlic noodles, tasty seafood combo (level 3 is real challenging spicy), local IPA was smooth to match and cool you down. Don’t forget the pecan pie is very nice. ——> Tip: check with your waiter which one is live seafood before you order. Thomas was my waiter today. He was super helpful and very attentive.

Rachel Drake

For starters our servers was amazing, I’ve never had someone be so quick or helpful. She was more then happy to explain the menu options and flavor differences, make recommendations, and she never let our classes empty. The food was fabulous some of them best crab boil we’ve had and my husband have been to loads of these places at home.

Will Trahan

I've been wanting to eat king crab since the first time I saw an episode of deadliest catch. The manager said I was the cleanest person he's ever seen eating crab legs lol. I didn't want to make a big mess so I was slow and careful cracking my shells and digging out the well seasoned crab meat. I went with the karai special seasoning with some habanero on the side. Mix of the two I felt was perfect but I like some kick to my seasoning. The cheesy bread appetizer was delicious as well. I got a mango flavored iced tea to wash it all down. All in all it was well worth the half mile walk from work along with the walk back. They did say that there is parking on their block I can use next time I go by. A little pricey but I've spent more on a meal by myself and this one definitely met my expectations for what I paid.

Yung Zhang

We came during happy hours (4-6:00), the snow crab legs and some cocktails were on special, it was very quiet. Quick and attentive service, I would recommend the Karai sauce, and the mild level of spicy.

Karen Scott

Delicious dinner at Karai Crab, the waitstaff were kind, informative and prompt. We had a party of 10 people, 3 of which were picky kids. We had appetizers of cheesy bread, edamame, cioppino, calamari and miso clams. The flavors were off the chain. Everything was light, seasoned well, and came out piping hot. Our mains were snow combo (snow crab clusters, clams and shrimp) in a butter garlic sauce. Snow crab clusters with Cajun seasoning and garlic butter, sautéed noodles were amazing as well. Everything we had was delicious, fresh, hot and cooked perfectly. They had a robust drink menu as well and the drinks were tasty. The outside was unassuming, but super cute decor and cheerful. If you are in Honolulu and decide to go off the beaten path Karai Crab is worth the visit.

Joe Nguyen

The food was DELICIOUS! The service was great and I recommend sitting outside. The patio dining scene really helped make a perfect dining experience......and I didn't even get a chance to check out the bar. I also recommend to order the entire crab if you're going to eat here; the steamed it perfectly.

MsKeydee

My favorite place to get crab on the island! My family goes at least once a month. Their seasonings are amazing and the portions are generous. Their garlic noodles used to be so good but they recently changed the noodle to angel hair pasta and their not as great. I still enjoy them though so no biggie. I take all visiting friends and family members to this restaurant whenever I get the opportunity and highly recommend it to any and everyone.

Warszawskismakosz

Very impressive garden seats outside and only plain interior design. Honestly, I expected much more. Menu is quite simple - you choose your favourite kind of meat, topping, spices. Additionally we ordered sweet potatoes fries and bacon corn bread. Crab legs at the end were expensive and on the bill meant about 40 usd, while clams were only 14 usd. Bread is heavy and surprisingly came quarter before seafood. What I liked the most was free of charge deserved, served ourselves in the kitchen, where chef at the end of dinner invites every guest one by one. Nice ending, but besides it was a very plain evening. I don't understand why is it so difficult to get a table here, while menu is limited and service just ok.

Elle

Ask to be seated outside! This place was recommended to us as a great place to bring our out-of-town guests, so we were surprised to see the cramped and plain dining room. The hostess said she had a spot for us outside, and it was the most beautiful setting! There's a pretty lagoon surrounded by gardens and shady trees, and the big dining area for the adjoining restaurant The Willows is over the water. Bottom line: if you care about atmosphere, ask to be seated outside.<br/>We all thought the food was great. I'm from Louisiana and lemme tell ya dawlin dem skrimps was gooo-ood! Ooo-wee! ;)<br/>I got the half order of spicy shrimp with garlic butter and Cajun mixed, plus cornbread. It was so good and plenty food. The kids liked the kids meals, and I'd say that was a successful dinner. Would go again. <br/>Oh, we were confused by parking, but I think you can park in the lot that says "Parking for the Willows".

Dano

Great King Crab. We arrived without reservations and saw a bunch of empty tables. We were told it would be a 20 min wait. At first we thought we were in a Seinfeld episode because we waited for over 20 minutes and the tables in front were empty. We were then pleasantly seated at a table that adjoins The Willows. It was much better atmosphere than the eating area you see from the entrance. Waitress from Jersey was great. The King Crab was good, but in hindsight I would get it with just garlic butter mild. I got caught up in the Cajun experience and ordered the Karai flavor. It overwhelmed the natural taste of the King Crab. The Karai flavor was good on the shrimp. Everything was cooked well and tastes fresh. Key lime dessert was great. It's a nice place to eat and relax without feeling rushed or pushed out the door.

Review Karai Crab - Honolulu